Frank Cacciatore

For Jonathan Sanchez, familiarity breeds ascent. Over the course of the first 2 1/2 months of the season, the Hagerstown Suns right fielder has come to know Lakewood pitcher Maximo De La Cruz on a first-pitch basis. On Friday, did he ever have a greeting. Sanchez clubbed a leadoff home run in the third inning to help the Suns regain the lead and added a clutch two-out RBI double in the two-run seventh to cap a three-hit night and the Suns' 6-4 victory over the BlueClaws. "It's the second half and I have to start hitting better," Sanchez said.

The first game of Saturday's doubleheader was no picnic for the Hagerstown Suns. Like an overcooked burger off the grill, the 9-5 loss to Lakewood in the first game was tough to swallow, no matter what the Suns did to make it more palatable. Hagerstown couldn't muster enough offense to overcome the BlueClaws' first-inning rally, which forced the Suns to play catch-up, a style of play they didn't relish. Lakewood feasted on Suns starter Bobby Parnell for five runs in the first - four scoring on Avelino Asprilla's grand slam - and scored in each of the first three innings to coast to the victory.

Jeff Landing got in five holes on Tuesday. That would have been great if he was playing golf. It isn't so great since he was the starting pitcher for the Hagerstown Suns. Landing allowed the leadoff batter to reach in each of his five innings and German Marte added a sixth occasion to help ignite the Hickory offense and lift the Crawdads to a 7-3 win at Municipal Stadium and send the Suns to their fourth straight loss. Hickory only cashed in on three of the six occasions, which may not be par for the course, but in baseball, .500 is a great average.

The Hagerstown Suns got the taste of living in a soap opera. That's where fortunes change dramatically because of a seemingly unrelated incident or something that happened earlier, but could have been easily overlooked. On Monday, a garden-variety single turned the Suns into Desperate Home Team, at least for the day. It didn't seem like much. It was a topped bouncer off the bat of Lake County's Johnny Drennen with two outs and none on in the top of the fourth. Hagerstown third baseman Leivi Ventura charged the ball, had trouble getting a grip on it out of his glove and threw late to third as Drennen beat out a single.

Historically, Lake County has used the Hagerstown Suns as its own personal launching pad. The Captains held a 39-13 record against the Suns during Lake County's first three years of existence. But on Wednesday, the Captains were forced to file an emergency flight plan. They faced a tough Landing. Hagerstown starter Jeff Landing continued to have his way with Lake County in 2006, this time giving up two hits in five scoreless innings to lead the Suns to a 3-0 victory before 4,398 youthful fans in an Education Day matinee at Municipal Stadium.

It's starting to look like these situations are meant to be for the Mets-to-be. The Hagerstown Suns have made a habit of trailing heading into the ninth inning and finding some way, somehow, to pull out games in the end. The latest example came Sunday when Tony Piazza ripped an RBI single just inside the third-base bag to bring home Jonel Pacheco with the winning run to complete a two-run rally and a 5-4 comeback victory over the Delmarva Shorebirds....

Jonathan Schemmel approached his first at-bat Sunday as if it were the post-game meal in the Hagerstown Suns' clubhouse. He stepped in, held his ground and just tried to cover the plate. Schemmel's two-run, two-out single in the second inning opened up a veritable buffet of opportunities for the Suns as Hagerstown closed the first half of the season on a high note with a 6-3 victory over Delmarva before a Father's Day crowd of 1,769 at Municipal Stadium. Schemmel faced Delmarva starter David Hernandez in a 1-1 tie with two outs, two strikes and two runners in scoring position - a situation that has been the downfall of the Suns for much of the season.

The Hagerstown Suns seem to have the end of games figured out. Now if only they could solve the beginning. A slow start left the Suns battling from behind - a common trait for them this season - and though they scored three runs late, it wasn't enough as Lakewood finished off a three-game sweep of Hagerstown with a 5-3 win on Mother's Day. The Suns have lost six of their last seven games. "We couldn't get anything going early," Suns manager Frank Cacciatore said. "But like this team has always done, we got back in it and gave ourselves a chance.

The Hagerstown Suns and Hagerstown Community College baseball teams will cash in sure bets tonight. It's the best of all worlds for the Suns and Hawks. It will be a maximum payoff for a very small investment when the two square off in an exhibition game beginning at 6:35 p.m. at Municipal Stadium. "I told the guys that this is the only game we have all season long that the score doesn't matter," HCC coach Scott Jennings said. "It will only last for one night and it won't count on our record, but the memories will last forever.

Nick Evans is finding success by realizing the rules of personal physics. Opposites don't necessarily attract, but they don't have to detract either. The Hagerstown Suns first baseman has enjoyed an upswing in his season since he began feeling at ease with two totally opposite emotions. Being aggressive and being selective. Taking up yoga would be a little easier. "I spent a lot of time getting myself out," Evans said. "I was swinging at bad pitches and taking myself out of my at-bats.